Pilot attachment for traction-engines.



R. B. HARTSOUGH.

PILOT ATTACHMENT FOR THACTION ENGINES.

APPLICATION mio rss. 23. 1909. nfnswzn oc. 28,1909.

Patented May 4, 1915.

"i t una :d dummy;

UNITED sTATEs PATENT oEEIcE.

RALPH B. HARTSOUGH, OF MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA.

PILOT ATTACHMENT FOR TRACTION-ENGINES,

Specification of Letters Patent.

Application led 'February 23, 1909, Serial No. 479,344. Renewed October 28, 1909. Serial No. 525,156.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known thatI I, RALPH B. HAa'rsoUC-H, a citizen of the United States, residing at Minneapolis, in the county of Hennepin and State of Minnesota, have invented a Anew and useful Pilot Attachment for Traction- Engines, of which the following isa specification.

This invention relates to'piloting attachments for agricultural machinery and more particularly for traction engines such as utilized for drawing gangs of plows. j l

The principal object of the invention is to provide a device of this character designed for use as an attachment which can be applied to traction engines of dili'erent types and which, when not in use as a piloting device, is capablevof swinging or traveling freely over the ground while in ixed relation to the axie of the steering wheels, the traction engine being steered in the usual manner through chains connected to the front axle.

A further object is to provide a piloting device having simple means whereby the wheel of said device may be locked at a predetermined angle to the frame of the attachment, said means being under the control of an occupant of the traction engine.

A still further object is to provide means whereby the angle of the attachment to the axle of the engine may be changed at will to permit the engine to travel nearer the furrow in which the pilot wheel is located when, for example, the machine is traveling over an inclined surface where the gang of plows tends to shift laterally out of the line.

'With these and other objects in' view the invent-ion consists of certain novel details of construction and combinations of parts hereinafter more fully described and pointed out in the claims.

In the accompanying drawings the preferred form of the invention has been shown.

In said drawings:-l*`igure 1 isa plan view of the steering wheels and axle of a traction engine and showing applied thereto the piloting attachment constituting the present invention. Fig. 2 is a side elevation of the mechanism shown in Fig. 1.

Referring to the figures by characters of .reference A designates the front or steering axle ofa traction engine, the same being car- Y ried bywheels B and having the usual steerr ing chains C connected to the axle.

an adjusting lever 3.

Vthe trame of the attachment.

The attachment constituting the present invention consists of a Asuitable sleeve or bracket 1 secured to the middle portion of the axleA and, iaving a rearwardly extend ing bracket 2 t which is pivotally connected This lever ma be locked in adjusted position by means o any suitable mechanism (not shown) and a longitudinal slot 4 is formed in the lever and receives a stud 5 upstanding from the middlel of the intermediate or bowed portion 6 of l Converging arms 7 extend forwardly from the ends of `this bowed portion, the front ends of the arms being held together in any vsuitable manner as by means of a casting 8. The trame has a transverse bar 9 connectin opposite sides thereof adjacent the bowe portion 6 and this cross-bar receives the pivot bolt or stud 10 extending downwardly from the sleeve 1. It will be seen therefore that the entire frame of the attachment is capable of swinging laterally with relation to the axle A, the part 10constituting the pivot of the frame and the lever 3, by reason of its engagement with the stud 5,. constiv tuting means whereby the entire frame may be readily shifted laterally independently of the axle.

An arm 11 extends forward from the casting 8 and has a head 12 at its forward end constituting a bearing for the' upstanding I stem 13 of a caster 14. This stem extends through the head and is provided at itsupper end with an arm 15 projecting rearwardly thcrefrom.- A weighted latch 16 is pivotally connected to the free end of the arm and is provided with a tooth 17 designed to be seated in any one of the series of notches 18 formed within an arcuate holding strip 19. Said strip is attached lto the head 12 by means of downwardly converging arms 20.

A latch-actuating cord 21 is connected to the latch 1.6 andext/nds baekwardly to the engine and at a pbint within convenient reach of the operator, said cord being preferably formed 'of two sections between which a coiled spring 22 is' interposed, both of the sections being attached to this spring as clearly indicated in the drawings.

In using the device herein described the frame 7 of the attachment is first adjusted to a Ydesired angle with relation to axle A, this ladjustment being effected by means of the resentment to one saale: managenl'diral' centerpf the and thereaster 414; can. be disposed as toi/travel within locke/dein relation to the frame 7 by placing tooth 17of latch 16 in one of the notches 18.l The traction engine willthus be proporly piloted during its forward movement and the plows drawn thereby will be main- "tained at the desired distance from the furrow' previously cut. When the machine reaches the end of the furrow and it is ,de-

' sired to turn, said machine is steered in the after the manner of. a sweep and the caster is turning about its vertical axis, because this -vice applied thereto, theJurrow wheel is :brought into the furrow andagainst the .wall of the furrow on the side toward the -unplowed land. -vThe traction engine is moves freely. over the ground until the machine is brought. into proper position at the head of the, line of furrows tobe cut, The parts can then be readily reset in the manner hereinbefore described. l,

By providing the spri 22 there is no danger of breaking the cor while the caster' s lring permits theY connection between the atch 16 and the traction engine to elongate whenever necessary." Importance is attached to the fact Vthat the caster l does not constitute a wheel but isutilizedrnerely as a pilot for aiding the operator in preserving theproper distance between the' cut furrows andthe traction engine. At all other times this caster constitutes" nothing'A morethan an idler.

In using a traction engineJ withthis debroughtA into. position with its wheels in the proper relation to the furrow so that the' plows drawn by the engine will be in proper relation to the previously plowed ound.}

vr2. In`

vWall of the to. the eline for operatin `said locking -itsvert'ical axis when not in useas a piloting device and which does not, therefore, interfete with the free movement of the frame of the attachment when -the front or steering axle of the traction engine is turned.

Obviously various changes may be made in the construction and arrangement of the parts without departing from the spirit or sacrificing the advantages of the invention.

lV'hat is claimed is 1 1 .V In combination, a. traction engine, a frame'supported thereon and projectingl in front of the en ne, a furrow pilot w eel carried by said rame and adapted to bear on the side wall of the furrow, means located near said 'wheel`and having an operatin means extendinv back to the engine foruocking said whee at a predetermined angle, said wheel being freely movable as a. caster when released Afrom said locking combination, a traction engine, a frame projecting in advance of said engine, afnrrow pilot vwheel carried by said frame and arranged to oscillate'on a vertical axis,

. located near said wheel for lockingI it at af predete ned angle `with respect tothe riirow,v means extending back means, sa wheel being free ymovable as a caster when released from said locking means. if 3. In fco'nbinatiom- :retraction engine, a frame projecting fpr-y wardly therefro'lma furrow,pilot*wheel'car-r ried said frame andi an'gcd the`s1dewall f thelifnzff"1 fr, a. ed ,to locksa' wheel ata predeterowwwallfwd, mm extending baclgwardly,f td the engine for operating4 Said latch. .Q The combination, with of a traction engine, of a.forniardlydp''rejecting frame, va."' :aster 'carried by., sai .frame, and means located at'the forward,4 portion of said frame and operable from"said engine for locking saidecaster against move- -inent with respect to the frame, said caster The horizontal swinging frame and t e ver- Wwhen locked constituting a. pilot wheel.

.tical axle of the pilot'wlfeel are locked in theI` proper relation to each other and to the' engine', and the pilot wheel will then img the wall of the "furrow and Awill :automatic/diy steer the engine across the land to be plo'w'd, forth@ fun length of the furrow. -wheafhe ritos wheel is Teleasedand it then becomes an ordinary freely swinging caster wheel, andf'in turning the engine the ordinary steering means may be employed, and the freelvswinging pilot -wheel will not in tcrferewith theoperlation of the regular dst l'eerin'g vappgnfatus of the tractionengine; This'is due QQ the fact,

which s capable olf swinging freely upon lof a tractionl engine, of a frame jforwardly therefrom, a pilotfw th 't'tliepresent device hasa caster wheel .,o

5. The combination, `with the steering axle lprmectmg eel ]our naled in said freine and arranged to bear on the side wall of the furrow, saidwheelhaving a substantially. vertical axis and capable 'of' performngfthe functions a. caster' wl'el, nieans for locking wheel atany, desired anglewith A' furrow wall, and contro said lockins from form/'Puros specified i,

6. -The with a steering axle of, a tractionp no ,ggoi a frame projecting gmrdlr @nieuwe commited te sin' Vfl-ame, and includmga stemj'our nailed in said frame and extending perpendicularly to the plane thereof, an arm extending from said stem, a locking strip oarried by said frame, a latch carried by said arm and normally engaging said strip to hold the caster against movement, said caster when locked constituting a pilot wheel, and means for actuating said latch to release said caster.

7. The combination, with the steering axle of a traction engine, of a forwardly projecting frame, a pilot wheel, means carried by the forward portion of said frame for locking said pilot wheel at a predetermined angle to said frame, and means for releasing said locking means.

8. The combination, With a steering axle of a traction engine, of a frame projecting forwardly therefrom, a caster having a vertically arranged stem journaled in said frame, an arm projecting from said stem,'

means for locking said stem against rotation, said caster when locked, constituting a.

pilot wheel, and means for releasing said locking. mechanism.

9. The combination, with a plow motor, of a guide wheel carrier arranged at the front thereof,' a vertical axis journaled thereon, a yoke extending downwardly from said axis, a vertically arranged guide wheel mounted in the yoke and adapted to bear against the land-side of a furrow, a locking device for preventing the axis from turning, and means for releasing the locking device.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my own, I have hereto aixed my slgna- .ture in the presence of two witnesses.

RALPH B. HARTSOUGH. 

